It seems the central focus of 2014's book-of-the-week will be the word
GATE. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines gate as:
1. a movable barrier in a fence or wall; 2. a city or castle entrance, often with defensive structures; 3. any means of entrance or exit; 4. a device for controlling the passage of something. Somehow, all of the coming year's books will involve a gate. That wasn't by choice... but more by
fate. In Greek mythology, fate is personified by the three goddesses known as the Moirai. These are, Clotho, (the spinner), Lachesis ( the allotter) and Atropos (the unturnable). They control the thread of life for every person... their destiny in life, as well as the time and manner of their death.
In
this artist's life, Week 2 of 2014 has had the usual blessings and challenges, but also has been marked by death. Not directly, but close enough to feel much heartache and sorrow for the families and friends affected by the two (totally unexpected) separate events. Death is a powerful, mysterious, and intense part of
life. In addition to the myriad emotions experienced, it is transformative for all involved. Though not all gates are related to death, it
is most definitely a gate. When death happens in a family or a community, everyone goes through a gate of some sort; and what is on the other side of that gate is unique for each person. The book-of-the-week for Week 2 is
titled
wall-GATE-wall. It is dedicated to my friend, Georgia, and to the family of my friend Cheryl.
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| Cover of Japanese paper with a white satin ribbon bow closure |
wall-GATE-wall is an accordion book with hard covers and a white satin ribbon that ties in a bow on the spine side. Closed, it is only 4-inches tall by 5-inches wide, and a quarter-inch thick. When stretched out, it is nearly six feet from cover to cover.
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| cover with title plate and the accordion pages stretched out behind |
Letterpress printed in white ink using 18-point Futura font for the word
wall repeated over and over,
and 36-point Caslon Bold font for the word
GATE printed only once....the simple text of
wall-GATE-wall has only two words...
wall and
GATE. It's printed on walnut-dyed paper which was off-set printed with black and sepia shadows. The hinges facing the front of the book are made of black Japanese silk book cloth and have been painted over with white gesso to resemble the letterpress printing. The hinges facing the back of the book are the same Japanese chiyogami paper as used on the cover.
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| the accordion wall... |
All along the accordion pages, only the word
wall is printed, so that the text image resembles a white picket fence.
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| a line of wall... across the page spread |
At the next-to-last page the
wall text is interrupted with the word
GATE. Then, the
wall text continues across the last page of the book.
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| across the page spread... a GATE |
You can never really know when or where you'll find a gate in the wall... until you look back.
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| beyond the GATE in the wall |
